The President’s visit to Miami Beach for the Saudi Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference at the Faena Hotel raises serious concerns. WE ARE DEEPLY ALARMED!
The actual expenditure by Taxpayers to cover this self-serving, Trump Family-enriching outing should be available to the public, by law, in the coming days. It takes a lot of money to fly the president, his family, his security detail and the whole entourage anywhere. It takes local money to then parade him around.
It also costs a lot of money for local police departments’ personnel and equipment as well—motorcades use fuel and officer hours. Miami Beach will absorb its own share of the cost of indulging Mr. Trump's display of friendship to the Saudis. The Miami Beach Police Department had to plan and put into effect restrictions to parking (from 9 in the morning till the evening) along Collins Avenue and Indian Creek Drive from 30-41 streets, including all side streets and close two parking lots on Collins Avenue (perhaps our Mayor will give us exact figures).
Throw in the cost of the inconvenience, congestion and delays Miami commuters suffered when Mr. Trump went from the airport to visit his hotel in the morning (tee time?) and later to travel to the Faena hotel at rush hour. Miami Beach residents were mostly trapped at home away from the area and hopefully the tourists at the numerous hotels on Collins just spent the day at the beach and the evening in their hotel rooms.
The loss to the United States’ global standing as a beacon and defender of democratic values and the ethical and geopolitical consequences of an alignment between Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Trump is simply incalculable and a cost that we will be paying well into the future.
The FII PRIORITY Miami 2025 conference on Miami Beach was funded by the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund which, according to Saudi Press Agency (the state news agency of Saudi Arabia), manages assets in excess of $925 billion. The President’s speech kicked off the summit and showcased his relationship with the Saudis.
What is the FII? Its website says it is a non-profit that seeks to “bring together leaders, visionaries, and innovators from around the world to explore the future of global investment.”
Scroll down the FII Priority Miami Fact Sheet to come across the “Summit’s Pillars” which note that “today’s leaders are tasked with advancing policies to sustain growth and social cohesion.” This sentence leads right into the ominous question: “How will leaders address regulation and reform to balance economic dynamism with stability in an interconnected economy increasingly defined by disruption?” Factsheet - FII PRIORITY Miami 2025.pdf
In the case of our “leader,” it seems he will simply seek Saudi investment in the United States to the tune of a trillion dollars while the Trump Organization expands and develops projects in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Son-in-law Jared Kushner’s private equity firm does business with the Public Investment Fund and was a conference participant, as were numerous heads of industry and finance, CEOs, billionaires, the uber tanned Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, in case there was any doubt about the ruling principles involved.
It is impossible to ignore the conflicting interests at work and the emerging threats to our national security when American interests are so commingled with the financial interests of one person. Our Republican leaders don’t seem to be concerned, and our Democratic leaders are mostly helpless at this juncture.
Should the United States be complicit in Saudi Arabia’s attempt to clean up an image tainted by countless human rights violations? We can’t overlook the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi which U.S. intelligence agencies concluded was sanctioned by the Crown Prince himself. We can’t overlook the Saudi's treatment of women as second-class citizens. We can’t overlook the violent suppression of dissent by the kingdom.
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